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WIDA MODEL

Assessments designed to measure students' progress in English language development

WIDA MODEL (Measure of Developing English Language) is a suite of English language proficiency assessments for Kindergarten through Grade 12. As a flexible, on-demand language proficiency assessment, MODEL can be administered at any time during the school year, depending on the needs of the district, school, teacher or student. Scores from WIDA MODEL can be used to predict student performance on ACCESS for ELLs.

Features

WIDA MODEL for Kindergarten is available only as a paper-based test. WIDA MODEL (Grades 1-12) is available in both online and paper modes.

MODEL test items are written to WIDA's five English Language Development (ELD) standards:

Social & Instructional Language

Language of Language Arts

Language of Mathematics

Language of Science

Language of Social Studies

Test forms are divided into five grade-level clusters:

Kindergarten

Grades 1–2

Grades 3–5

Grades 6–8

Grades 9–12

Each form assesses the four language domains of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.

As an adaptive test, MODEL allows flexible placement within sections of the test, based on student performance. The Listening and Reading domains consist of multiple-choice questions. The Writing and Speaking domains consist of performance tasks administered and scored by local Test Administrators.

Purpose and Use

MODEL can be used to:

Serve as an interim assessment during the school year, providing information that informs instructional planning and other decisions related to students' education

Some schools use Kindergarten MODEL as an alternative to Kindergarten W-APT for identification or placement of incoming Kindergarten students.

Scores

WIDA MODEL Paper and Online scores* are reported as both scale scores and proficiency level scores in all four domains (Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing) for students in Grades 1-12. In addition, score reports include three composite scores:

Oral Language

50% Listening

50% Speaking

Literacy

50% Reading

50% Writing

Overall

35% Reading

35% Writing

15% Listening

15% Speaking

Proficiency level scores from WIDA MODEL can be used in conjunction with WIDA Can Do Descriptors and the WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework to help teachers effectively plan instruction for their ELLs. Scores from WIDA MODEL can also be used to predict student performance on ACCESS for ELLs.

WIDA MODEL Online

WIDA MODEL Online is an on-demand English language proficiency assessment for students in Grades 1-12. The assessment can be administered at any time during the school year, depending on the needs of the district, school, teacher or student. Scores from WIDA MODEL Online can be used to predict student performance on ACCESS for ELLs.

WIDA MODEL Paper

WIDA MODEL Paper is an on-demand English Language proficiency assessment for students in Grades 1-12. The assessment can be administered at any time during the school year, depending on the district, school, teacher or student’s needs. Scores from WIDA MODEL Paper can be used to predict student performance on ACCESS for ELLs.

WIDA MODEL for Kindergarten

WIDA MODEL for Kindergarten is an academic English language proficiency assessment. As a flexible, on-demand language proficiency assessment, this test can be administered at any time during the school year, depending on the needs of the district, school, teacher or student.

Interested in using WIDA MODEL internationally?

Featured Educator

"With my Kindergarteners I definitely use the screener results as a start. The MODEL screener always comes in handy because it gives us like a snapshot of what the student is going to need me to focus on. When we know their speaking levels, their listening levels, and so on that helps us plan for instruction."

Sandy Moller, ELL/Bilingual Teacher
Morton Grove, Illinois

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